Education

The Galax School Board voted unanimously to set the last day of school at June 10 and graduation day at June 11.

Additionally, the first day of the fall semester will be Aug. 15.

There was a little discussion at the April 12 meeting about proper placement of the last day of school; according to Superintendent Bill Sturgill, “That would give us two days short of what we originally planned for. Thanks to [Assistant Superintendent Rebecca Cardwell], she spent some time calculating the hours.

Galax City Schools will be able to both offer raises and hire more positions, thanks to a dramatic increase in funding from the state, Superintendent Bill Sturgill told school board members in a brief budget meeting on March 22.

The budget as presented at the meeting was preliminary. The final proposed budget will be voted on at the next board meeting and presented to Galax City Council for official approval at the April 25 meeting.

HILLSVILLE – Carroll County Public Schools’ proposed budget for 2016-2017 totals $42.5 million, up around $1.9 million from the current year.

The school board submitted its proposed budget to the Carroll County Board of Supervisors on March 29. The total includes $11.8 million in local money, an increase of $228,900 over the current year’s budget.

The good news is that state funding will increase. Challenges include increasing special education needs, salary increases and larger class sizes.

INDEPENDENCE — After weeks of tracking funds, restoring order and prioritizing the needs of the school system, the Grayson County School Board and school administration have agreed on a budget for the 2016-17 school year.

The budget approved by the school board on March 21 totals approximately $19.9 million; and includes federal funds totaling $2.4 million, state funds totaling $11.1 million and local funding of $5.7 million.

The Virginia Board of Education is honoring 55 Title I schools and one school division for raising the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students.

The list includes Oakland Elementary in Carroll County and Independence Elementary in Grayson County.

The awards are based on student performance on Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years, according to a news release. Each school will receive a certificate celebrating its status and achievement.

“To sum it up, so far in our year, we’ve seen students who have never before been excited about school showing up excited about staying after school,” said Galax Middle School teacher Sheila Ramey, who made a presentation about the 21st Century grant-funded afterschool reading program at the March 8 Galax School Board meeting.

The program is the same that led to last semester’s trip to Biltmore, after 7th graders spent seven consecutive Mondays after school reading “Serafina and the Black Cloak.”